Reflections on Change – Are We on a Runaway Train? 快速变迁的时代
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- 创建于 2007年4月03日
- 最后更新于 2024年5月25日
- 发布于 2011年12月20日
- 作者:Mike Lee
- 点击数:281
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课文讲解
In the old days, life didn’t evolve a great deal from one generation to the next. In fact, things were so simple that today and tomorrow were ___1___ interchangeable. Nowadays, of course, it’s a different story altogether. We are currently living in the most dynamic time in all of history, a time when the fissure between present and future hardly exists.
古时候,各世代的生活不会有太大差异,事实上,事物甚至单纯到今日与明日可以互换。现今当然截然不同。我们目前正活在史上最富活力的时代,一个现在与未来之间几乎无缝的时代。
1. |
(A) theoretically |
(B) practically |
(C) academically |
(D) speculatively |
Let’s take a look at the major advances ___2___ the human race’s history on planet Earth. Agriculture emerged about 10,000 years ago. Then the industrial revolution 200 years ago ___3___ the information era around 150 years later. Now, after 50 years of living in the digital age, we’ve not only mapped out the entire human genome, but also revolutionized communication and created a mega-source of information instantly available at our ___4___.
让我们回顾地球人类史的重大演进。大约一万年前,农业开始。200年前,工业革命发生,再过150年,则有信息时代的来临。现今,在数字时代生活50之后,我们不仅已破解所有的人类基因组,也改革了通讯方式,并创造唾手可得的庞大信息库。
2. |
(A) at |
(B) on |
(C) with |
(D) in |
3. |
(A) followed |
(B) replaced |
(C) was followed by |
(D) was replaced by |
4. |
(A) fingertips |
(B) fingernails |
(C) fingerprints |
(D) fingermarks |
The rate of change has been exponential. And the reason for all this is quite simple: people. Putting more people in a conference room will ___5___ more ideas. The same goes for the planet. There are more people in roaming on Earth than ever before. Therefore, it makes sense that so much is going on. The question is no longer, “how do we get faster?” Rather, the question is “how do we control development?”
变化的速度极快,而其原因相当单纯:人。将更多人放在会议室内,会产生更多点子,同样的道理也适用于地球。现在地球上的人口之多,前所未见,因此,发生这么多变化也就不足为奇。问题不再是「我们如何更快?」而是「我们该如何控制发展?」
5. |
(A) dispute |
(B) generate |
(C) refute |
(D) scrap |
Basically, we can’t. ___6___ you like it or not, human cloning will happen. There will be robots in our homes – in fact, they are already there. We can’t stop the advances of technology and science. All we can do now is ___7___ what we are creating and its effect on the world, rather than mindlessly spawning technology just for the sake of innovation. Technological progress and the advancement of mankind are often two distinctly things. By clearly defining the difference, we can look forward to a better tomorrow.
基本上,我们无能为力。无论你喜欢与否,复制人必然出现。我们家中将会有机器人,而事实上,有人家里已有机器人。我们无法阻挡科技的发展,我们唯一能做的,是思考人类所创造的事物,以及这些事物对世界的影响,而不是只为了创新而发展科技。科技演进与人类发展多半是两回事。经由清楚界定此一差异,我们才能期盼更美好的明天。
6. |
(A) Because |
(B) So |
(C) Despite |
(D) Whether |
7. |
(A) having considered |
(B) considered |
(C) consider |
(D) considering |
−by Murray Walker
Vocabulary
单词发音
interchangeable [͵ɪntɚˋtʃendʒəb!] adj. 可以互换的
fissure [ˋfɪʃɚ] n.(尤指岩石上的)裂缝,裂隙
emerge [ɪˋmɝdʒ] v. 浮现;出现
map out 安排; 仔细计划; 筹划 plan, delineate, or arrange in detail
roam [rom] v. 漫步;漫游
spawn [spɔn] v. 大量产生
innovation [͵ɪnəˋveʃən] n. 革新; 创新
look forward to 期待
More Information
单词发音
runaway [ˋrʌnə͵we] adj. 控制不住的;发展迅猛的
reflection [rɪˋflɛkʃən] n. 深思,熟虑;反省[(+on/upon)]
altogether [͵ɔltəˋgɛðɚ] adv. 完全,全然
dynamic [daɪˋnæmɪk] adj. 有活力的;有生气的
genome [ˋdʒi͵nom] n. 基因组; 染色体组
mega-source 庞大来源
exponential [͵ɛkspoˋnɛnʃəl] adj. 指数增长; 越来越快的
clone [klon] n. 复制品; 无性繁殖
mindlessly [ˋmaɪndlɪslɪ] adv. 不用心地; 愚蠢地
practically [ˋpræktɪk!ɪ] adv.【口】几乎,差不多
speculatively [ˋspɛkjə͵letɪvlɪ] adv. 思索地;推测地
refute [rɪˋfjut] v. 驳斥,反驳,驳倒
scrap [skræp] v. 将……作为废物;将……拆毁
Answer
1. ( B ) |
2. ( D ) |
3. ( C ) |
4. ( A ) |
5. ( B ) |
6. ( D )
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7. ( C ) |
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